According to Peter Day in "The B&B where cannabis is part of your stay," the legalization of marijuana for recreational use by Colorado in 2014 has led to a rapidly growing industry that is transparent, "often quite elegant," and a major tax payer (2016). Day tells us that this did not happen because Colorado politicians wanted to change the drug laws, but because the citizens of the state of Colorado wanted it and voted to force their government to legalize marijuana, which is now also a draw for tourists from US states where this addictive drug remains illegal. Day also discusses the odd situation that results from the fact that whilst now legal in Colorado, marijuana remains illegal under federal US law, which means, for example, that banks are uncomfortable dealing with legal marijuana profits.
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My Yes/No question is:
Should Thailand legalise marijuana?
My answer is:
Yes, definitely.
Although understandable, there was never any good reason to make ganja (กัญชา) illegal in the first place, so making it legal now would correct the currently unjust laws that have been harming Thai citizens for decades past. Those same Thai laws are also harming Thai society by leading to increased crime, reduced tax income, higher corruption, wasted police resources and no reduction in drug use. These are all harms that come from the rule of law that makes a popular drug of addiction illegal - and exactly the same thing happened in the US when alcohol was made illegal between World Wars 1 and 2: the mafia and corrupt police, judges and others loved it because they got rich.
Apart from my own coffee addiction, I think it's better not to use drugs, especially nasty drugs like alcohol, but marijuana seems much less harmful: alcohol users, all those people drunk on beer, whisky, wine and so on, are major causes of violent crime. It is the alcohol addicts and users who bash their wives and children. It is the alcohol users who get into fights. It is the alcohol users who destroy thousands of Thai families by killing innocent people on Thai roads. Compared to alcohol, marijuana seems kind and gentle, although it should certainly be illegal to smoke and drive, just as it should be illegal to drink alcohol and drive.
Thailand and Thai citizens would benefit greatly were marijuana and all other recreational drugs legalized for adults to buy, sell and use. I can think of only bad reasons not to do this.
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Reference
Day, P. (2016, April 27). The B&B where cannabis is part of your stay. BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35999549
Hughes, A., Lipari, R. N., & Williams, M. (2015, December 17). State Estimates of Adolescent Marijuana Use and Perceptions of Risk of Harm From Marijuana Use: 2013 and 2014 [report from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration]. Retrieved from http://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/report_2121/ShortReport-2121.pdf
I agree with your idea. I think Thailand should legalize thew marijuana. Of course, marijuana has bad side effects towards people but in some way it can be adapted and used as medicine. Since I have been to the states last summer, I saw some doctors use marijuana as a treatment to some cases for patients. They said marijuana would also help with heart problems too if they use it overdose.
ReplyDeleteIf you thought I was trying to be controversial with this blog post, you are right.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm also right, so if you disagree with me, you are wrong. And students do often disagree with us, us being myself and Pamela Hartmann, who gives a less solid defence in favour of legalizing all illicit drugs in her example paragraph on page 227 of Quest.
Naturally, Hartmann and I welcome disagreement, but if you want to tell us that we are wrong, we expect you to both show why our supporting arguments are not strong enough, and to present your own strong supporting reasons for the opposite idea.
This sort of argument is what academic work is very much about: critically reading another person's ideas and either confirming or denying them.
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ReplyDeleteSo far, there are a number of people who have precipitated the psychiatric problem after using the marijuana. I think we should find the border of freedom and social responsibility at the same time like drinking alcohol responsibility such as no drunk driver.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on this issue. I think legalizing marijuana would benefit the Thais. There will surely be less corruption among the judges, police, and others. However, it is imperative that young people have been told and warned about the drug consequences
ReplyDeleteNow, I have no idea to say Yes or No yet because I suppose that this is not an easy question to answer reasonably by only anyone’s opinions or beliefs. It requires (a lot of) time to think analytically, logically and critically with reliable supports from research, statistics or case studies.
ReplyDeleteSome people might support your idea, Kam’s and Nan’s idea due to such advantages; on the other hand, others might still say no since they are often perceived by schools, news, parents and so on that marijuana is narcotic despite having some medicinal properties. Thus, they views that people will be more addicted and face some harmful effects if it is legalized.
But this idea sounds rather intriguing and is well supported by the case study in America. Perhaps Thai government might review this idea and try legalizing it and then wait to see the consequences to check whether this policy’s benefits really outweigh its drawbacks for Thailand.